ID :
183658
Sun, 05/22/2011 - 15:47
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/183658
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Japan, S. Korea eye reviving economy, tourism of quake-hit areas
TOKYO, May 22 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Naoto Kan and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak agreed Sunday to join hands in helping Japan's northeast revive its economy and tourism as the Tohoku region and the rest of Japan continue to reel from the effects of the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Meeting on the sidelines of a trilateral summit that also involved Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Kan and Lee also touched on the closely watched trip to China by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il but did not take up the diplomatically sensitive issue of South Korean lawmakers heading for one of Russian-held islands claimed by Japan, a Japanese official said.
During their 20-minute talks, Kan and Lee agreed to promote tourism, especially for disaster-hit Tohoku, and work on specifics via bilateral working-level talks or multilateral frameworks involving both countries.
Sending a joint private-public sector mission to assess Tohoku's needs is among projects to be launched under the latest bilateral partnership agreement for reconstruction of the region.
The mission is designed to discuss with local officials and businessmen how Seoul can contribute to boosting trade with the region and rebuilding the infrastructure that was severely damaged by the disasters, according to a joint press release issued after the talks.
Observers say a pledge of this kind from Japan's neighbor is reassuring and crucial at a time when tourists have been shying away from visiting Japan amid the ongoing crisis at the radiation-leaking Fukushima plant.
South Korea was the first country to send a rescue team to disaster-hit areas and provided relief supplies such as water and blankets.
Coinciding with the summit meeting of the three Asian neighbors, two opposition South Korean lawmakers left South Korea on Sunday for Kunashiri Island, one of the four disputed islands off Hokkaido. The Foreign Ministry briefer said their trip was not mentioned in the Kan-Lee talks, adding the Japanese government is still confirming the facts about it.
The islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kurils, were seized by the Soviet Union after Japan's surrender in World War II in 1945, and the dispute over this has prevented the two nations from signing a postwar peace treaty.
Due partly to time constraints, Kan and Lee did not discuss a territorial dispute involving their nations -- over South Korean-controlled islets in the Sea of Japan, which are known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, the official said.
Kan was also quoted as telling Lee that the Japanese parliament is set to ratify a bilateral treaty on the transfer of historical documents.
Tokyo is hoping to pave the way for the return of 1,205 volumes of Korean documents, brought to Japan during its 1910 to 1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, when Lee next visits Japan -- as a state guest -- possibly this fall, according to government sources. The artifacts include royal records of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).
The bilateral accord was signed last November in line with Kan's pledge to transfer the cultural items, which was made last August ahead of the Aug. 29 centenary of Japan's annexation of the Korean Peninsula.
On the economic front, Kan urged Lee for bilateral free trade negotiations to resume at an early date, and Lee said South Korea for its part will work out a schedule for the talks, according to the official.
Beyond bilateral issues, Kan and Lee agreed to work closely with each other as well as with the United States in dealing with North Korea's uranium enrichment program and urged Pyongyang to take concrete actions toward its denuclearization.
Multilateral talks aimed at Pyongyang's denuclearization, involving the two Koreas, Japan, China, Russia and the United States, have been deadlocked since December 2008.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak agreed Sunday to join hands in helping Japan's northeast revive its economy and tourism as the Tohoku region and the rest of Japan continue to reel from the effects of the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Meeting on the sidelines of a trilateral summit that also involved Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Kan and Lee also touched on the closely watched trip to China by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il but did not take up the diplomatically sensitive issue of South Korean lawmakers heading for one of Russian-held islands claimed by Japan, a Japanese official said.
During their 20-minute talks, Kan and Lee agreed to promote tourism, especially for disaster-hit Tohoku, and work on specifics via bilateral working-level talks or multilateral frameworks involving both countries.
Sending a joint private-public sector mission to assess Tohoku's needs is among projects to be launched under the latest bilateral partnership agreement for reconstruction of the region.
The mission is designed to discuss with local officials and businessmen how Seoul can contribute to boosting trade with the region and rebuilding the infrastructure that was severely damaged by the disasters, according to a joint press release issued after the talks.
Observers say a pledge of this kind from Japan's neighbor is reassuring and crucial at a time when tourists have been shying away from visiting Japan amid the ongoing crisis at the radiation-leaking Fukushima plant.
South Korea was the first country to send a rescue team to disaster-hit areas and provided relief supplies such as water and blankets.
Coinciding with the summit meeting of the three Asian neighbors, two opposition South Korean lawmakers left South Korea on Sunday for Kunashiri Island, one of the four disputed islands off Hokkaido. The Foreign Ministry briefer said their trip was not mentioned in the Kan-Lee talks, adding the Japanese government is still confirming the facts about it.
The islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kurils, were seized by the Soviet Union after Japan's surrender in World War II in 1945, and the dispute over this has prevented the two nations from signing a postwar peace treaty.
Due partly to time constraints, Kan and Lee did not discuss a territorial dispute involving their nations -- over South Korean-controlled islets in the Sea of Japan, which are known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, the official said.
Kan was also quoted as telling Lee that the Japanese parliament is set to ratify a bilateral treaty on the transfer of historical documents.
Tokyo is hoping to pave the way for the return of 1,205 volumes of Korean documents, brought to Japan during its 1910 to 1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, when Lee next visits Japan -- as a state guest -- possibly this fall, according to government sources. The artifacts include royal records of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).
The bilateral accord was signed last November in line with Kan's pledge to transfer the cultural items, which was made last August ahead of the Aug. 29 centenary of Japan's annexation of the Korean Peninsula.
On the economic front, Kan urged Lee for bilateral free trade negotiations to resume at an early date, and Lee said South Korea for its part will work out a schedule for the talks, according to the official.
Beyond bilateral issues, Kan and Lee agreed to work closely with each other as well as with the United States in dealing with North Korea's uranium enrichment program and urged Pyongyang to take concrete actions toward its denuclearization.
Multilateral talks aimed at Pyongyang's denuclearization, involving the two Koreas, Japan, China, Russia and the United States, have been deadlocked since December 2008.
